CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC, a clinical-stage drug discovery and development company pioneering a revolutionary approach to the treatment of life-threatening diseases, today announced that it has formed a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to advise the Company on its clinical development programs. The SAB, comprised of four noted scientists and clinicians, will provide Diffusion’s leadership team with critical scientific and medical input on the Company’s strategic direction.
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David G. Kalergis, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals’ Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The formation of such a strong scientific advisory board underscores our commitment to the highest quality clinical development effort. We are particularly pleased to have attracted such prominent scientists, physicians and opinion leaders to our SAB. Their perspectives and insights will play an integral role in our drug-development programs.”
The founding members of Diffusion’s SAB include John L. Gainer, Ph.D. (Chair); Stuart A. Grossman, M.D.; John A. Jane, M.D., Ph.D., FRCS; and David E. Longnecker, M.D., FRCA.
John L. Gainer, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of the University of Virginia department of Chemical Engineering, is Diffusion Pharmaceuticals’ co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor. He will serve as SAB Chairman. As the inventor of the Company’s proprietary trans bipolar carotenoid family of molecules, he plays a critical role in charting the path of their further development and commercialization. Dr. Gainer has spent four decades investigating the transport properties of small molecules in solvents and biological systems, authoring over 100 scientific journal articles. He has spent two sabbaticals investigating drug actions and related research in the laboratories of major pharmaceutical companies. He has been a member of the International Society for Oxygen Transport in Tissues since its inception in 1973 and has received several teaching awards, including the University of Virginia Alumni Association’s Distinguished Professor Award and the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Southeastern Section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Dr. Gainer received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1964.
Stuart A. Grossman, M.D. is Professor of Oncology, Medicine and Neurological Surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Dr. Grossman received his M.D. degree from the University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, NY. His postgraduate training included an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital, in Rochester, NY, and a clinical fellowship in Oncology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. His clinical interests include brain tumors, cancer pain, medical oncology and neuro-oncology. Dr. Grossman holds Board Certifications in both internal medicine and medical oncology.
Dr. Grossman also serves as Director of the New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy (NABTT) CNS Consortium. NABTT ‘s main objective is to improve the therapeutic outcome for adults with primary brain tumors. This nationwide consortium is funded by the National Cancer Institute to conduct Phase I and II clinical evaluations of promising new treatment strategies, routes of administration, and clinical trial design in the treatment of primary malignancies of the central nervous system. Under Dr. Grossman’s direction, the NABTT Consortium combines and focuses the experience, resources, and capabilities of nine outstanding medical institutions (Emory University, Henry Ford Hospital, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Pennsylvania, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Wake Forest University) to bear on primary brain tumors.
John A. Jane, Sr., M.D., Ph.D., FRCS(C), FACS is Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of Neurosurgical Training at the University of Virginia. His clinical interests include craniofacial surgery, neck and back surgery, brain tumors, trauma and pediatric neurosurgery. Dr. Jane received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. He is certified in Neurological Surgery and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. An author of several hundred journal articles, and author and editor of numerous books and book chapters, Dr. Jane has also been a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery since 1984 and Editor since 1992, Editor of Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine since 1999 and Editor of Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics since its beginning in 2004. Additionally, Dr. Jane has been a member of the Editorial Board of Brain Injury since 1987 and a committee member on Spinal Cord Injury for the National Academy of Sciences for the Institute of Medicine. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including most recently the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Founders’ Laurel Award in 2005 and the Meritorious Service Recognition Award from the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves in 2006. He has received the Cushing Medal, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons highest award.
David E. Longnecker, M.D. is the Robert D. Dripps Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania. He has spent his professional career as a physician-scientist, physician-educator and physician-administrator. Dr. Longnecker’s clinical interests involve anesthesia care for critically ill or injured patients, in whom oxygen delivery to tissue is a vital issue for organ integrity and survival. His research focused on the microcirculation, vascular biology and oxygen delivery to tissue. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and editor of seven medical textbooks. Dr. Longnecker is a fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (UK) and member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. At the IOM, he is Chair of the Committee on Aerospace Medicine and Medicine for Extreme Environments, which advises NASA on medical risks, medical care and health-related matters associated with space flight. Dr. Longnecker also serves on the National Advisory Council of NASA; this Council advises NASA on strategic directions, especially as they relate to the Vision for Space Exploration (Moon, Mars and beyond). He is the senior author on two recent reports from the IOM; A Review of NASA’s Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health (2004) and A Review of NASA’s Bioastronautics Roadmap: A Risk Reduction Strategy for Human Exploration of Space (2006).
About Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC
Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC is a clinical-stage drug-discovery and development company that owns a platform technology of patented small-molecule therapeutics that enhance the diffusion of oxygen to hypoxic (oxygen starved) tissues. By applying a revolutionary approach to increase oxygen diffusion into tissue cells, Diffusion’s lead molecule trans sodium crocetinate (TSC) and other proprietary pipeline molecules (known as trans bipolar carotenoid or TBC molecules) could be used to treat life-threatening conditions, such as trauma, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, peripheral vascular and arterial disease and numerous other conditions characterized by oxygen deprivation at the cellular level. A Phase I clinical trial for TSC began in the first quarter of 2007 to support the use of TSC in ischemic indications. Phase II studies for TSC are expected to begin later this year. Several of the company’s pipeline molecules are currently in the preclinical stage. Diffusion Pharmaceuticals, which is privately held, is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. For more information, visit www.diffusionpharma.com.
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CONTACT: Tracey Linkous, Director of Communications of DiffusionPharmaceuticals LLC, +1-434-220-0718, tlinkous@diffusionpharma.com
Web site: http://www.diffusionpharma.com//
